Volvo & DME

The pipeline explosion last summer in northern IL was a natural gas pipeline being used to move dimethyl ether. It is produced with natural gas, so I'm guessing production of it goes on when the demand for gas for heating fuel is low.

I read a few years back in Scientific American about a clean compression ignition (diesel)engine burning this gas in city use, but I can't find the short news article again, it can be done and is.

CNG is being used now from stations equipped to deliver it and from bio gas at at least one huge dairy operation in Indiana. That dairy is called Fair Oaks

 

DME has a higher Cetane rating than diesel, and the plus over the propane methane complex is lower pressures and can be used in diesels as the fuel source, not a supplement just to be burned with regular diesel fuel.

Dimethyl ether is one compound produced in diesel fuel during the process of adding bio esters and methanol to diesel fuel to make biodiesel. It's one of the reasons bio tends to burn cleaner with less soot.

 

EGR is meant to reduce NOX by reducing peak combustion temperatures, and SCR removes it downstream, in the exhaust, after it is produced by combustion.

They can get a pass on all of it for the small numbers of test vehicles involved, just as farm and industrial machines get a pass for small numbers of machines using an engine so large that a compliant engine is cost prohibitive to develop because of low numbers.

What they end up with is only a guess at best, as the article stated in other ways. The DD15 TC uses a standard non waste gated turbo, and it is much noticed by someone who has been running diesels for over 40 years. I never did like the variable geometry turbo much at all, even in a Series 60 Detroit. I'm not sure what they did with the DD15 Evolution engine, but asymmetrical doesn't sound like variable geometry to me.

DME also sounds good to me, other than seeing that fire way to the north in IL last summer, I think the danger of explosion for any alternative fuel, but especially pressurized gas, is being blown off.

The best thing would be if the stuff takes off better than LNG, but the investment and promotion going into that will go a long way towards making it 'work'.